Big Creek Outdoor Education Center

The Big Creek Outdoor Education Center, a historic Flathead National Forest Ranger Station, is located along the Wild and Scenic North Fork of the Flathead River adjacent to Glacier National Park, a twenty minute drive from West Glacier. The Big Creek campus includes two bunkhouses with bathrooms, a main dining hall (which can accommodate up to forty people), a meeting room, a large classroom, a twenty foot tepee and additional teaching space. Big Creek runs on a generator for electricity and has no public phone service, although a radio phone is available for emergency calls.

Big Creek is staffed by the Big Creek Program Manager and experienced educators whose backgrounds are in environmental education and the sciences. Since 1988, Big Creek has been home to our Youth Science Adventure Camps, Discovery School and several adult field courses which operates under a special use permit with the Flathead National Forest.

The Glacier Park Field Camp and/or Big Creek Outdoor Education Center can be rented for custom programs, small conferences, trainings and retreats. For more information, please contact register@glacierinstitute.org or our Main Office at (406) 755-1211.

NOTE: Tent and RV camping and pets are allowed at established campgrounds adjacent to both campuses.

Glacier Park Field Camp

The Glacier Park Field Camp, a National Park Service facility operated by The Glacier Institute, is located just inside the West Glacier entrance of Glacier National Park. On a bluff overlooking the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, Field Camp is home to five, comfortable hostel-style cabins that can be reserved by students for $30 per bed per night. Field Camp has a community kitchen where students can store and cook food, an energy efficient bathhouse with hot showers, a classroom and the Morris Brown Myerowitz Memorial Library, which contains a diversity of books and audiovisual materials relevant to Glacier National Park and the surrounding areas.

Field Camp is staffed by the Field Camp Program Manager and experienced naturalists, who bring added expertise to each course. Since 1983, Field Camp has been home for many of our adult field courses, family and custom programs. The facility is open from April to October.

NOTE: If you plan to arrive at Field Camp after 9:00 p.m., please notify the Field Camp at (406) 888-5215.